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We are seeing more and more back pain in kids these days. Research has shown that carrying heavy backpacks is responsible for a significant amount of neck, shoulder and back pain in children. With school starting again, we want to remind everyone of some handy tips for your child’s back health.

• A good ergonomic backpack should be approximately no larger than the child’s back. A backpack that looks too large for the child’s back is likely too large and will cause unnecessary strain on the back itself.
• The maximum weight of a backpack should depend on the size (weight) of the child. As a rule of thumb, your child or teen should not carry a backpack that when loaded exceeds 15% of their body weight.
• A standard backpack with two straps is better that a single strap bag, but should be worn with BOTH straps over the shoulders. The straps should be heavily padded and there should preferably be a waist belt.
• A better option is to use a backpack that has wheels, so it doesn’t have to be carried at all.

I hope these tips are helpful and if you would like to have your child’s backpack assessed, we always offer FREE backpack fitting and assessments in our Boise office. Call today at (208) 321-8484.

Human posture has been an area of health concern throughout history. dating back to the time of Hippocrates, care of the human frame has been a focus. Many research papers have investigated the effects of abnormal posture on people. Despite these facts, there remains debate on the relationship between postural alignment, pain and general health.

Dont Let Postural Degneration Diminish Your Quality of Life

The cause-effect relationship between postural deformity-abnormality and health disorders has been the subject of numerous investigations and review articles and it has advocates on both sides of the debate.  However, recent high quality research studies have found interesting and significant differences between condition groups vs. control groups and significant correlations between abnormal posture alignment and a number of health disorders including:

• Abnormal middle and low back alignment and back and neck pain in children and adolescents;
• Hyper-kyphosis (round back) and health perceptions and function in adolescents;
• Hyper-kyphosis (round back) and rigid forward head posture and functional impairments in seniors;
• Hyper-kyphosis (round back) and early mortality (death) in seniors;
• Abnormal cervical spine postures in women with chronic pelvic pain;
• Abnormal forward head posture and neck pain, headaches, disability, range of motion, respiratory muscle function, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Doctors certified by Chiropractic Biophysics Seminars, Inc, have extensively studied the effects of poor posture on spinal degeneration, spinal pain and overall health. Through rigorous post-graduate level continuing educational seminars, the “Certified” CBP doctor has learned state-of-the-art techniques that have been shown to be effective at improving/correcting abnormal posture and abnormal spine alignment. Call our Boise office at 321-8484 today to find out if CBP care might be right for you. If you are outside of the Boise area, you can find a CBP Doctor near you by searching HERE.

Non-surgical management of Scoliosis is undoubtedly one of the most difficult conditions which we see at our clinic. Because this condition is so very difficult to manage, when treatment is successful, it is very rewarding. Dr. Betz has always been fascinated by the complexity of the scoliotic spine. He was invited to be one of three instructors for a Scoliotic Deformities Seminar where doctors come from as far away as Australia to improve their understanding of scoliosis in general, and develop their skills for effectively managing this disorder, in particular.

Management of scoliosis in both adolescents and adults has been something that we have emphasized when designing our clinic over the years. we have 8 different advanced traction systems that can be used to apply spinal traction for the patient with scoliosis.

CBP of Idaho Rehabilitation Room

WHY CBP CARE FOR SCOLIOSIS?

CBP spine care focuses on correcting structural scoliosis and other structural abnormalities of the spine through a combination of spinal adjustments, corrective scoliosis exercises and corrective scoliosis traction. We start by taking precise Xrays. Most doctors, including orthopedists and the X-ray technicians they have take their films, do not take into consideration the 3-dimensional nature of the scoliosis when positioning the patient for the X-ray. This results in inaccurate films that do not report valid measurements of the size of the scoliosis. Using knowledge from mechanical engineering principles about how a 3-D spine projects onto a 2-D X-ray film, we take the most produce the most precise images possible. Being “rushed” in and out of an overly busy imaging clinic at a hospital or orthopedic center is not in the best interest of the patient. Great caution must be taken to accurately visualize and measure the scoliosis…it is after all, the primary basis of all clinical decisions.

After initial films are taken, at CBP of Idaho we use state-of-the-art X-ray digitization software called PostureRay to most accurately measure abnormal alignment of the spine.

Next, using analysis unique to CBP doctors, “stress” films are taken to try to determine the most effective means of improving the scoliosis using CBP traction, exercises and spinal adjusting.

In Figure A in the patient standing in a comfortable, neutral posture. Figure B shows movemment 1 followed by movement 2, and Figure C shows movement 2 followed by movement 1. The order of the movements made the most improvement in Figure C, so this order is following when applying CBP exercises, sdjustments and traction.

You can call our office today at (208) 321-8484 and schedule a consultation to see if CBP care is right for you. If you do not live in the Boise, Idaho area, you may be able to find a Certified CBP doctor near you by searching HERE.

I was asked to provide some more examples of low back stretches. So, here they are. In the attachment to this post I gathered some more advanced stretches I recommend to my patients to do at home. While most people can perform these “advanced” stretches, sometimes these they can make a persons pain worse, particularly when done improperly. Again, we recommend having your spine checked for common problems before beginning any exercise or stretching program. Proper one-on-one instruction can also prove to be more beneficial as well.

Advanced Home Stretches Low Back

You can call our office for an appointment at (208) 321-8484.

Some people who suffer from low back pain can benefit from a customized set of stretches for the low back, hips and legs. In the attachment to this post I gathered some of the basic stretches I recommend to my patients to do at home. While most people can perform these “basic” stretches, sometimes these they can make a persons pain worse, particularly when done improperly. In fact, we recommend having your spine checked for common problems before beginning any exercise or stretching program. Proper one-on-one instruction can also prove to be more beneficial as well.

Basic Home Stretches Low Back

You can call our office for an appointment at (208) 321-8484.

Hyperkyphosis (HK) is an increase in the normal rounding of the middle back, between the shoulder blades.  Most people associate this with “hunch-back posture”. This can occur as a child and is often called Scheuermann’s Disease if there is compression deformity of several of the bones of the back, as seen on X-rays. More often it occurs as a person ages. Contrary to what some doctors say however, this is NOT a “normal part of aging”. In addition to spinal pain and increased risk of vertebral compression fractures, HK has been shown to have a profound effect upon overall health. In one study published in 2004 the authors reported that, “In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, persons with hyperkyphotic posture had a 1.44 greater rate of mortality (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.12–1.86, P=.005).” This means that during the study period (four years) patients with hyperkyphotic posture were 44% more likely to have died than patients with more normal posture! The authors concluded, “Older men and women with hyperkyphotic posture have higher mortality rates.”

Doctors certified by Chiropractic Biophysics Seminars, such as Dr. Betz, have training in unique Mirror-Image® spinal adjustments, Mirror-Image®  traction and Mirror-Image® postural exercise methods that work to reduce this common deformity of the spine.  Sometimes a posture support brace is recommended as well to help “remind” you to perform your activities of daily living in the best position possible.

If you or someone you know, regardless of age, has what appears to be hyperkyphosis or a “forward head posture” (see picture below) you should call our Boise office today to schedule an appointment for a consultation and a computerized posture analysis using PosturePrint software.